U-19 conducted 20 patrols, sinking 15 ships totalling 35,430 gross register tons (GRT) and 441 tons. On 1 May 1940, U-19 was withdrawn from combat duty and used for training and as a school boat. She returned to active duty in the 30th U-boat Flotilla on 1 May 1942, after having been transported overland and along the Danube to the Black Sea.
German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-19 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (254 t), however.[2] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-19 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive.[2]
U-19's first three patrols involved voyages between Wilhelmshaven and Kiel via the North Sea. She also carried out a series of short journeys, one of which took her to the English east coast near The Wash.
The boat sank Carica Milica with a mine 3.5 nmi (6.5 km; 4.0 mi) off the Shipwash Lightship, (southeast of Aldeburgh) on 18 November 1939.
U-19 departed Wilhelmshaven on 4 January 1940. On the ninth, she sank Manx north of Kinnaird Head, near Fraserburgh in Scotland. She docked in Kiel on the 12th.
More success came when the submarine sank Battanglia on 23 January 1940 southeast of Farne Island and Gudveig 4.5 nmi (8.3 km; 5.2 mi) east of the Longstone Light vessel (north of Newcastle).
A steady stream of sinkings followed, including Charkow on 19 March 1940 and Bothal on the 20th.
The boat was then transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of Galați. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard and sent to the Black Sea.[3]
She departed the Romanian port of Constanța[4] (where she was to be based for the rest of her career), on 21 January 1943. She was attacked by four unidentified aircraft off Gelendzhik on 13 February; damage was minimal.
This sortie was officially divided into three parts. Having left Constanța on 10 June 1943, she returned on the 11th due to a defective exhaust valve, having first re-fuelled at Feodosia.
Part two was the longest, starting from Constanța on 16 June and finishing in Feodosia on 7 July.
The third portion was little more than a movement exercise from Feodosia to Constanța which only lasted two days.
Patrol number fourteen was also divided. The first segment was marred when a second sick crew member was transferred to German submarine U-20 (1936). U-19 put into Feodosia to re-supply.
The second part involved the boat as part of a patrol line, along with U-23 and U-24. This activity was cut short for U-19 because of problems with the periscope.
U-19 departed Constanța on 25 August 1944. She sank the Soviet minesweeper BTSC-410 Vzryv (No 25) on 2 September. The communist regime cited this incident as the reason that the Romanian fleet was seized. The commander was wounded in an accident on the seventh. The First Watch Officer (1WO) took over.
The boat was scuttled in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey on 10 September 1944.[1]U-19 suffered no casualties to any of her crew.
On 3 February 2008, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that U-20 and U-23 had been discovered by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer. He thinks he is also close to pinpointing U-19, thought to lie more than 1,000 feet (300 m) down, three miles from the Turkish city of Zonguldak.[6]
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN1-85409-515-3.
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